Metamorph
by Midna-Phobia
Summary: Shapeshifters and Assassins and Thieves oh my! Metamorph; an epic tale of a game of cat and mouse where murder, deceit, trickery, and lies are just normal everyday things and there is an uprising coming for control of the world.
1. Chapter 1

Metamorph

_A thief can be a dangerous enemy, an assassin even more so, but a shapeshifter? To cross a shapeshifter is nothing short of a death sentence. For even assassins have limits, they can change their appearance but not their species; sneak up on you in the dark but not in plain sight. And they will always be human, you know who to be wary of. But shapeshifters could be anything, when you're on a shapeshifter's hit list it is the most torturous final days of your life._

_Metamorph; an epic tale of a game of cat and mouse where a shapeshifter and an assassin fight for control and a charm that contains more power than either of them first realise. Murder, deceit, trickery, lies are just normal everyday things in a world of shapeshifters and there is an uprising coming for control of the world._

Chapter 1 Thieves

The thief crept through the night into the cave. He could not tell you his real name if you had asked him. He had spent so much time in different guises and gone under so many false names he had long since forgotten. His senses were on high alert as he continued through the tunnel.

It was pitch black but his night vision was well adjusted and he could see comfortably. But this heist was more risky than most, and he was not doing it for the money as usual. This time his pride was on the line to retrieve the artefact he sought. Among his many alter egos he had one in particular he favoured and in it he went by the name of Beau. So he liked to imagine that was his real name. It could be but he would never know.

This situation was not one Beau ever thought he would find himself in. He was in the lair of a shapeshifter. Deadly creatures that, in his eyes, were not fit to be called human.

But their species had died out not but two decades ago when he was only a boy in the 'Great Cleanse'. Where every last one had been snuffed out and killed. For they had one minor flaw, they each bore a scar of their birth form somewhere on their body. It could be anywhere and anything. Those with the mark in plain sight could hide it simply with the fur of an animal aspect.

Another way many were caught out was because they disliked holding shape. If they held it for too long they became fidgety and uncomfortable. But it could take up to three days for this to happen. However had any survived, which was all but impossible, it was most likely they had modified around this defect. Shapeshifters were clever and highly adaptive; their main purpose to humans was as hired assassins. But the humans rarely knew if they were dealing with a real assassin or a shapeshifter. Though shapeshifters often had a much better reputation.

They could get right up to a person, disguised as anything. As long as it was living and capable of movement they could imitate it perfectly.

Regardless of this fact it was well know of the shapeshifter's lair Beau was now in. And he was here to retrieve a charm owned previously by one of the demons. A piece of jewellery; specially made by the shapeshifters that will morph as they do to always fit their body.

Many such artefacts had been made during the time of the shapeshifters. But most were gone now, destroyed with their owners or lost to time. Only a few charms survived. It would fetch a hefty price had he been willing to sell it. But it was know a thief skilled enough and brave enough to retrieve a shapeshifter's charm; as they were known; was a professional. And it would show he meant business harbouring the charm. And Beau was the best of the best.

So it went without saying he had to obtain one, at any cost. After a short walk along the tunnel Beau came to the central chamber. It was full of treasure collected over the years by the shapeshifter. All of it would be booby trapped so he wisely left it as it was. Besides their unique talents shapeshifters were know for their skill in all 'undesired' trades. Such as thieves, assassins, spies and other such jobs that required deception in abundance. As well as their skill in traps, no one but a shapeshifter could touch any of that loot and live.

At the far end of the cavern there was a shrine and Beau walked confidently towards it. It was his height and had a great bronze eagle ready to strike inside. And looped neatly on the bird of prey's foot was the shapeshifter charm. It was a dragon, long and slender; the body was about the width of his finger and long enough to loop around his wrist. The dragon looped around once before an unseen force held the head and the tail together.

His hand shot out to grab it instantly before he consciously restrained it. These charms were the most valuable thing in the world, to their shapeshifters especially. It was not likely that it had simply been left here unguarded and with no traps or such to guard it. But Beau could see nothing to trip should he grab it. But it was not only the possible danger that stopped him from taking the charm. It was in the form of a dragon.

It meant that this tomb belonged to The Dragon, king of all shapeshifters. It was rumoured that The Dragon was the most ruthless, conniving and dangerous killer in history. It was impossible to catch, its kills were never messy with no lose ends. Anyone who crossed it was never seen again. How it had managed such anonymity no one, even other shapeshifters did not know. It was the best, full stop, end of story. He couldn't possibly steal the charm of The Dragon. He couldn't, he thought it over and over again when his hand shot out and snatched the dragon charm.

Years of being a bandit had highly developed what most in the business referred to as 'thief reflex'. Beau waited for some horrible trap to spring and decapitate him but after a few minutes nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the exit hardly believing his luck. He was so enveloped in the idea of escaping he didn't notice the trip wire. Under any other circumstances he would have; but he had been too preoccupied.

A large swinging trap began to fall in his direction. But years on the street avoiding guards' crossbow bolts had sharpened his reflexes. Using inhuman speed he dropped and the mallet swung over his body. He felt the wind rush by with it and in a second he was back on his feet and dashing for the entrance of the cave. As he stumbled out of the cave he fell to his knees gasping from exertion and relief. His celebration was cut short as he felt the familiar coldness of sharp metal on his neck.

Beau cursed loudly and stood up slowly his hands held above his head. The person wielding the dagger quickly stood behind him. Bending his arm at an uncomfortable angle and pressing the dagger harder to his throat.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Assassins

Beau took a deep breath and using all his skill he managed to flip his attacker over his shoulder and onto their back. The dagger flew out of his hand and into the bushes some distance away. Then before he could even breathe the assailant swung their feet around and knocked him off his feet. Momentarily winded Beau was helpless as the attacker quickly subdued him by holding both arms in an immobilizing hold behind his back.

"Come now Beau is that any way to greet your old friend like that?" The assailant said smiling menacingly though Beau could not see him.

He knew that voice; it was familiar and after a moment's thought he was able to put a name to it.

"Scapen, what are you doing here?" He said angrily. Scapen was an assassin, thieves and assassins rarely, if ever, got along. He knew of Scapen and had even met him once. But it was a big stretch to say they were friends. What was he up to?

"I could ask you the same thing. You know full well that shapeshifter lairs are forbidden. You've been a very naughty boy." Scapen said smirking at his joke.

"They are not! There is no law saying I'm not allowed to go in there. How stupid do you think I am?"

"Well being brutally honest I think you are very stupid." Scapen told him pushing harder on his arms to make him that much more uncomfortable. Beau winced but made sure he did not cry out in pain. He would not give the assassin that satisfaction.

"But to the main point there are no laws stopping ordinary people from going into shapeshifter lairs because most people are too smart or too scared to do so. But there are laws that forbid us and you know that full well. We do not obey normal laws but it does not mean we are not without. And the assassin's creed clearly states-"

"You think I care about your assassin's creed? I am a thief, we have no laws and your creed does not apply to me." Beau said cutting him off.

"If you had let me finish I would have said that the assassin's creed clearly states that for all persons of 'un-honourable' career: shapeshifter lairs are expressly forbidden. And should any law of the assassin's creed be broken then the punishment is death."

Beau gasped involuntarily. "You cannot be serious! I've done nothing wrong, I didn't even steal anything. The place was so heavily booby trapped I took one step inside and almost had my head taken off." He said lying through his teeth. It was second nature for a thief to lie and to anybody else to would have sounded sincere.

But Scapen was an assassin and he knew how to tell when a thief was lying. It was quite simple really; the trick was knowing that they always lied. The assassin shook his head in disappointment.

"You thought you could get some extra business did you? Some more respect for your skill? Did you even realise that this was The Dragon's lair? I bet you didn't, even you wouldn't be that desperate. So what did you manage to steal from The Great Dragon?" Scapen taunted, he knew of Beau's reputation as one of the best thieves in the town. But he was far from one of the best. And his major weakness was he would say and do almost anything to prove he was the best, "if anything."

"Shut up, I'll have you know that I stole her charm." He boasted only realising his mistake after he had blurted out his secret.

Scapen was smiling again, even though he couldn't see the assassin Beau could feel a shiver running down his spine. "You managed to steal a shapeshifter's charm? Well I'll just have to have a look at it then won't I?" Scapen told him feeling around his pockets until his hand touched something cold and metallic.

He pulled it out of the thief's pocket to inspect it more closely. Beau wiggled and squirmed trying to worm his way out of the assassin's hold. Scapen groaned in annoyance and held the thief's arms tighter, not taking his eyes off the charm. It was thick and durable but as he moved it around it was as agile as a snake. The carvings were so detailed it could only have been made by a shapeshifter. And the clasp; or lack thereof; was more notable; the charm would not break its circle but he could not see anything holding it together.

"Give it back, I stole it, it's mine." Beau demanded, he was still struggling against Scapen's hold but it was starting to make him lose feeling in between his shoulders.

"I'm sorry but the creed still stands. I will be happy to relieve you of this trinket since you won't be needing it any more when I kill you." Scapen said and before he had finished his sentence a new dagger was in his hand and slicing through the thief's neck. All resistance was lost and a pool of blood quickly formed under the dead body.

Scapen stood up still looking at the charm. He looked away from it finally to look down upon Beau's dead body. It was a messy kill, blood pooling all over the ground staining the dirt. But he didn't really care; nobody was going to miss him. He was a thief, the lowest form of life to live.

Even lower than shapeshifters at least they had honour. But thieves had no honour, no laws, and no restrictions. No respect. What was their purpose on this earth? Nothing, they stole from whomever and whenever they wanted, they would even steal from each other if they felt like it. At least assassins had rules; and they followed those rules to the letter. If they didn't they would have trained killers on their tails for the rest of their lives.

But despite this Scapen did not regret his choice to join the elite classes of assassins. It was his life and it couldn't be worse than a thief. True if the need came he would steal and yes that made him a thief, but he would never take it up as a profession. He had often wondered if killing might be worse than stealing. But at least assassins did not kill on whims. They had rules, restrictions; there was a set way to do things.

Stealing was just an impulsive thing and Scapen valued preparation above most things. He could spend days planning a kill and all that preparation would always pay off and he could get away scot-free. But all assassins had rules to follow. The rules of the assassin's creed: they were not allowed to take up contracts on each other; they could not kill for pleasure; and a few others such as the one about the shapeshifter's lairs. He had nothing against any of their rules and he had never broken any of them. He had not entered the shapeshifter's lair himself but there was no law against owning a shapeshifter charm. He smiled to himself and left the thief's dead body for the creatures of the night.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Shapeshifters

Shapeshifters are known throughout history as illusory beings that can change their shape at will. They were deceptive, conniving, ruthless, adaptive and most of all smart. And 'The Dragon' as she was known was more of all these things than most. To humans she was known as The Dragon but her true name, that the other shapeshifters referred to her by, was Velée.

When her life had been threatened by the humans in their 'Cleanse' she had not tried to fight back like most. She could have if she had wanted too but there were too many of them. Shapeshifters were never found in abundance and the humans outnumbered them one hundred to one at any time.

She hid and set a trap so that she would know when it was safe for her to re-enter the world. When man was so sure he was safe from shapeshifters that he would dare enter their lair and steal from them. That would be the time and now the time had come.

True the person had claimed himself a thief and that would prove man is still smart enough to leave them alone. But one was all she needed; one was enough. It only took one to steal her charm and now he had set her free again. The bronze eagle began to crack and in moments the shapeshifter had broken free.

Velée was slightly disoriented by her twenty year sleep. For the first few minutes she stumbled around trying to regain her bearings. Her senses were unsettled and confused her greatly. Her ability to shift her aspect was clumsy as well but after only ten minutes or so she regained complete control. She cried joyously and her eagle form screeched at her freedom. She quickly changed into a wolf aspect and picked up the thief's scent. It was not hard to find as no one had been in here for many years.

Velée followed the trail out of her lair as fast as she could. But upon entering the outside world for the first time in a long time what she found was disappointing. The thief hadn't even made it five meters out of her lair and he had died. As she snuffed around his dead body she discovered his throat had been cut. And his killer had stolen her charm. Velée was no fool and she quickly guessed that humans had named shapeshifter charms as valuable. So he had been murdered, and non to neatly, and her charm stolen by another. The shapeshifter raised her head and howled angrily.

After only a brief look around she left the dead body and began to follow this new scent. As she tracked the new thief she committed his scent to memory. If she smelt him again she would know immediately. The shapeshifter did not bother to take in her surroundings as she followed the scent. The only thing that mattered to her right now was finding the thief. But to her discontent the trail soon thinned out into nothing. Now she stood on top of a hill on the edge of a forest looking over a massive town.

That had not been here twenty years ago and if it had it had been nowhere near this size. She could not find the thief in there. It was impossible. So instead of seeking him out she would wait. Shapeshifter charms were the most prized possession to their shapeshifter. She could not do anything until she got it back. Velée quickly morphed into a human. She disliked taking human form, they were slow, clumsy and awkward to portray. But it was the only way to find her charm without drawing attention to herself.

The form she had chosen was a pettily framed girl of fifteen. Her clothes were simple black pants and a dark blue tunic shirt but more in a boy's fashion. Her eyes were emerald green and her hair was jet black with the slightest hint of the darkest blue in the spectrum; just long enough to cover her birthmark. When a shapeshifter was born their birth form was permanently imprinted on their body in a sort of birthmark. Velée's was a dragon and was located on her right cheekbone. It was an old favourite form of hers, for a human and brought back pleasant memories.

The shapeshifter descended slowly down the hill into the town. It was huge, more of a city than a town. It would take her weeks to find the thief again. She groaned in annoyance at the situation. Then her stomach growled hungrily suddenly. Usually shapeshifters did not have such petty needs; they had evolved past those centuries ago. They only needed sleep once a new moon, only had to eat when the need arose. Depending on how active they were it could take a few days to a month before they got hungry.

But Velée had been in rest for two centuries and she had a right to be hungry. The shapeshifter walked around aimlessly for only a matter of minutes before she found a suitable place to eat. A small outdoors restaurant, the walls were made from many thin wooden strips criss-crossing over in a chain link fashion. Vines covered the fences small grape plant were decorating the vines. It made the area smell sweet and the soft light provided by numerous lanterns made her feel at ease.

And if she had to she could have traced her steps back to where she had started with only her eyes. Velée had always had a very good memory and in a matter of days she could have this whole city memorised. She walked into the alfresco bistro, which she was surprised to find still open, and sat at a table. The table was round and designed o fit four; it was covered in a relatively clean white table cloth with a single rose in the middle in a glass vase.

In minutes a person dressed in a smart looking suit came over to her and asked her what she would like. He was a tall man and very thin, she wouldn't look him in the face which made any other features of him blank to her. Velée tilted her head slightly confused she asked what business it was of his. But she still did not look at him for risk of him seeing her birth mark. She did not know how much people remembered about shapeshifters but she did not want to risk it. The man looked back equally confused and said ever so politely that it was his job to take orders.

"I'm sorry," Velée apologised. "I've never been to the city before and this is a new experience for me."

Her waiter said it was completely understandable but Velée noticed his baffled expression as he went to the cook with her order for a very large salad. Shapeshifters never ate meat as a religion, if they had a religion; which they didn't. But after being so many of the animals that humans ate it was hard to imagine eating them.

The waiter returned with her order and she ate it promptly. When she was ready to leave he came back again and she paid him. Under normal circumstances she would have used one shapeshifter trick or another to avoid paying. Or she would have given him shapeshifter gold which will crumble to dust after a few hours. But this time Velée paid properly. She didn't mind as it was a very cheap meal, probably because the restaurant was famous for meat but she didn't know that. And she left. After some consideration the shapeshifter returned to the woods on the edge of the city. Taking a wolf aspect, another favourite of hers, she settled down among a thicket and waited until morning.

"So it's a deal?" The young woman asked.

"Yes, your 'problem' will be fixed by sun rise. I give you my word." Scapen replied eagerly.

"And it will not come back to me in any way, form, or manner?" The woman confirmed.

"Oh that's the beauty of it. I am going to kill two birds with one stone. I will kill one of the targets you requested and frame the other. It is that simple."

"How can you be sure she will get the blame and not another?" The woman was nervous and it showed.

"Please, I am a professional, it is my job, and I do it extremely well. If not you will get a full refund and I will kill her anyway, assassin's honour."

"Assassins don't have any honour and you know it Scapen." The woman said as they shook to seal the deal. As the assassin's hand connected with his client's his sleeve was pulled back to reveal a shapeshifter charm. The dragon was looped around Scapen's wrist and it glinted duly in the dim light. The woman gasped and withdrew her hand.

"I knew you were good my dear but I had no idea you were that good." She exclaimed looking at the charm more closely but not daring to touch it. Scapen simply smiled his menacing smile and let the lady inspect his newly acquired possession. This bracelet was going to bring him great things.

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Murder, Bloody Murder

_The person who stole my charm will regret it. _Velée thought over and over again angrily. _That charm will bring nothing but an angry shapeshifter_. The forest was cloaked in pale pink from the rising sun. The shapeshifter stood on its edge again looking over the city for a second time_. _The city was bigger than she first thought; much bigger. Even with her eyes as sharp as an eagle's she could only just see the end of the human made maze. Velée cursed loudly not caring who heard it. It was going to take a lot longer to track the human down. There could be hundreds or even thousands of humans in that city. How was she supposed to track down one?

"Murder, bloody murder!" Someone from within the city cried. It was quickly followed by more people shouting and a big fuss had broken out in minutes.

The shapeshifter tilted her head back and forth from side to side. It was a habit she demonstrated when she was confused or annoyed or both. _Humans are much too loud; it was a pleasant morning until now. I don't understand why a dead person is such a big deal. They killed thousands of us in their 'Cleanse' and none of us ran around like chickens with our heads cut off screaming 'murder, bloody murder'. This is why I hate humans._

Never the less Velée could not help herself and she went to investigate the commotion. She flew in as a crow and landed on the roof of the building opposite the scene. There was a group of people crowded around the front door and a woman was being dragged away by officers.

She was nowhere near beautiful in fact she seemed more like the plump motherly type. She didn't look guilty that much was certain to the shapeshifter; but apparently not so much so to the other spectators. And after her another body was being carried by two men. This one was a young woman, again she was plain but there was no doubt that this was the woman's daughter. Or at least a very close relative; the resemblance was uncanny. Only she was dead.

"Oh please!" Velée cried angrily, but to the humans it only sounded like her crow form cawing. They looked at her and she looked back unflinching. She did not fear discovery, they were too stupid to even suspect. "It is all too clear that this woman did not kill her." She retorted instead. "How stupid can you humans be? And I've been hiding because I was scared of you? How I've wasted my time." She continued, the humans just continued to look at her oddly.

"The birds are acting weird." One of them said.

"It's a sign of the mother's betrayal; the crow is trying to tell us that it was murder." Another replied unenthusiastically. Velée wanted to slap him in the face.

"I'm trying to say she didn't do it you incompetent people! Can't you see what is right in front of you? This was clearly done by a professional." The shape-shifter continued ranting.

Then suddenly she picked up something; the faintest scent on the wind. It was her thief, _no not a thief, an assassin it seems._ She left the roof to get closer to the source of the smell. All the people stepped away from her as if she were some deadly animal. The shapeshifter rolled her eyes at how stupid they were. She had forgotten how much she loathed working with humans.

After confirming that it was indeed the scent of the assassin from her lair she took off after it. The people watching continued to talk of how anything the shapeshifter did was proof of the woman's guilt. Velée travelled fast and low to the ground to best keep on the trail. It was hard tracking as a crow but she dare not change form. She would be seen instantly as a shapeshifter but far more important to her was she may lose the scent if she stopped, even for a moment and she could lose it. The trail was unstable enough as it was so she would just have to make due.

She rounded another corner and stopped abruptly. The trail had not ended but her assassin had gone into a building. By the look of it, it was a hotel or something of the sort. The crow glanced around making absolute sure that there was no one around. The last thing the shapeshifter needed was people discovering that one of _her_ kind had survived their 'Cleanse'. Finally satisfied Velée shifted back into a human form, different from last night.

Now she was a young woman of nineteen, she had shoulder length light brown hair with blonde streaks in it and bright blue eyes. She had discovered very early on in her life that outstanding features distracted from things she didn't want people to notice. This form in particular was devastatingly beautiful wearing a stunning but simple dress in royal red; at least in a shapeshifter's eyes it was beautiful. But her species and humans often disagreed on such things. But not on this though, even the pickiest of men would find it hard to resist this appearance.

Velée entered the hotel; it was poorly furnished and had a very lower class look. There was a fat man behind the counter at the far end of the dimly lit lobby and she walked confidently over to him. The second he caught sight of her he began to look suspicious, the shapeshifter didn't blame him. A classy looking lady coming into this kind of place is out of the ordinary and anyone would be suspicious of something like that.

"Can I help you miss?" He asked but his tone indicated he wanted to do anything but.

"Yes actually, I'm looking for a man who came in here…" the shapeshifter concentrated hard on the smell, shifting her smell receptors as much as possible without changing her form. It was impossibly important she got the time right or she could go after the completely wrong person. "…about ten minutes ago." She said finally after only the briefest of pauses. She doubted it had been so soon but a shapeshifter never second guessed themselves.

"Why?" The man asked not bothering to hide his suspicion. Velée sighed to herself; the time had been close enough.

"Well he dropped these outside." She said holding out a handful of shapeshifter gold. The man's eyes instantly lit up with greed. She had expected as much. "And I would like very much to return them to him."

"I'd be happy to do it for you." The man said snatching at the money in her hand.

Velée moved her hand away too quick and he was left grabbing at air. "I'm very sorry, but I'm not a very trusting person. But if you'd kindly tell me what room he's staying in I might just let a few drop in my hurry to return them." She said with all the fake charm she could muster. But inside she was screaming with joy. This man was so wrapped up in the fake money in her hand he was completely oblivious to the fact that no normal person returns money they found on the street; or that she couldn't have possibly known when he had come here.

"He's in room twenty one." The man said hastily Velée let one of the coins fall from her hand as she turned. The man behind the counter quickly grabbed it in case she changed her mind suddenly. But she didn't mind, in six hours it would crumble to dust anyway.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Revenge is a Dish Best Served in Cold Blood

Velée knocked on the thick wooden door with the numbers '21' painted in fading black paint on the front. She was about to knock again when the door slowly swung open of its own accord. The shapeshifter entered cautiously into the dimly lit room. It was sparsely furnished like the lobby; only the necessities and a chest of draws.

This was clearly a place people who didn't want to be noticed came; thieves, spies, assassins and perhaps if they had been more numerous, shapeshifters. The windows could be barred but to Velée's relief they weren't. Blocking windows was a double edged sword, true it would stop people getting in but it would also stop a person trying to escape getting out. The occupant of this room had realised this which was good for Velée, she had an easily accessed escape route if things got ugly.

"Hello," she called into the seemingly empty room. If it was the wrong person, or if they managed to get the jump on her; which she doubted; she could at least claim innocence. "Is anyone here? I found-" she stopped talking immediately, there had been somebody in the room and now they had a dagger to her throat. She had heard him approaching but felt it best to let him think he had caught her by surprise.

"What are you doing in my room?" The man behind her asked threateningly. He sounded confident enough and his voice had a roughness to it that trained ears like Velée's could tell meant he would not hesitate to kill her if she made a wrong move. Not that he could if he tried. The shapeshifter had learned long ago how to only shift particular parts of her body, like she had done in the lobby to heighten her smell. Now thick dragon hide covered her neck and his dagger wouldn't even scratch her. But her identity as a shapeshifter was still unknown to her assailant as he was behind her.

His smell flooded into her scenes, it was definitely the same guy and he was definitely an assassin. Velée increased her breathing to quick and shallow gasps and even let some fake tears drizzle down her face.

"Please, I was just trying to return these." She gasped pathetically in her best imitation of fear and panic holding up the coins. Some people say shapeshifters didn't have feelings like humans. It was not true; a shapeshifter, like any other animal, felt all the emotions of humans. They felt fear, anger, happiness and sorrow. Just because they had better control of how they acted upon these emotions did not mean they did not feel them.

That was a major human weakness the shapeshifters were proud to say they did not possess, assumption was another. A shapeshifter never assumed anything; they just knew things by analysing them thoroughly. Like the way Velée had with the fact her thief was an assassin, or how shapeshifter charms had become valuable. And as she had planned the assassin assumed she was who she portrayed and let her go. He took the money though he did not need it she noticed as he returned it to an already bulging purse at his waist.

"I'm very sorry for my rude welcome. But one can never be too careful in this part of town." He said politely offering her a seat as if the whole threatening of her life had never happened. The shapeshifter sat down but stayed in her natural state of cat-like readiness.

"It's quite alright Mr…"

"Scapen," he answered promptly, Velée doubted if that was his real name but for now she would call him as he wished to be called. "And may I know your name my lady?" He asked in return; he wasn't flirting per say, but his voice contained a warmth compared to the way he had spoken when he had threatened her that made the shapeshifter's skin crawl. But instead she pretended to blush, giggling like a young girl.

"Marly," she answered sweetly, it was making her stomach churn to act in such a fashion but she promised herself it would make killing him all the more sweet.

Velée extended her left hand to shake Scapen's, as usually humans put jewellery on their weaker hand. Her eyes lit up as the sleeve was pulled back by his extended hand and her charm was revealed. It looked exactly as she remembered it but perhaps a little smaller. She also noticed the numerous scratch marks on Scapen's hand. While her charm may appear smooth in the end of each delicately carved scale was a sharp barb.

Velée smiled to herself, only a shapeshifter could open her charm and it seems this man had forced it onto his wrist. With the lightning fast speed of a snake the shapeshifter struck. Scapen fell to the floor with a thud and Velée landed on top of him. His good arm was trapped under his body and Velée still clutched the other with a vice-like grip.

"Thiss iss a sshapesshifter charm." She said with a slight hiss, a small side effect of the quick shift and shift back she had to make with her reflexes.

"So what, it isn't against the code for me to own one. I stole it; I never went in the Dragon's lair. I would never break such an important law." Scapen said showing no fear. Velée quickly put a shapeshifter dagger to his throat but let him continue for a while.

"What do you mean?" She asked puzzled.

"You're an assassin aren't you? And you've come to kill me for entering a shapeshifter's lair? I didn't do it." He retorted trying to escape.

"You think I'm an asssasssin, that's amussing."

"Spy, thief, assassin, it doesn't matter what you are. I have done nothing wrong you cannot kill me. Or are you a client? If you are this is not a good way to get my attention. And if you expect those few gold coins to pay for a job you will be very let down. A man of my talents requires a much larger pay than that."

"Oh shut up," Velée said ridding herself of the hissing lisp. "I have no need of your 'services' all I want is this." She said hold his wrist where he could see it.

The shapeshifter was about to undo the clasp when there was a loud bang and she was thrown across the room. Pain flared inside her stomach and Velée realised she had been shot. Her blood was pooling on the floor already and she looked up to see the man from the lobby pointing a shotgun at her.

"Are you alright Mr. Scapen?" He asked helping him up. "I heard the commotion and came running."

They both looked at her with a deadly intent and Velée realised it was time to leave. In a flurry of black feathers she shifted into a crow again and flew out the window. She felt the rush of wind as a dagger whizzed by her along with shouts from both men:

"Shapeshifter, shapeshifter!"

Scapen was an assassin; he would expect a fleeing shapeshifter to head for the rooftops. Velée wanted to head for the rooftops, how she wanted to head for the rooftops but she didn't. She might gain a little distance but he could strike her down in this injured state. So instead she flew fast and low along the back allies, but this took longer. And in her crow aspect the wound was bigger in proportion to her body, and she was losing more blood. Even shapeshifters had not evolved past the need for blood and oxygen.

Finally she could fly no further, Velée landed in an empty back alleyway. She wanted to shift into a more, less defenceless creature but even that was beyond her now. She would have to take the bullet out and concentrate her energy on healing the wound. She was painfully aware of the trail of blood she had left behind but it could not be helped. Shapeshifters healed very quickly, wounds that would take humans weeks to recover from would only take a shapeshifter a few hours.

Then suddenly everything went dark and an uncomfortable weight was put on her. Someone had thrown a blanket or something of the sort on her. She squawked in outrage, not saying anything in particular but acting as any normal bird would in her situation. The ground was pulled from under her feet as her trapper picked her up.

She continued to squawk for several minutes but she was getting steadily weaker. Her blood had stained the cloth so much it felt wet on her feathers. Velée was worried what would happen when she lost consciousness. When shapeshifters slept they constantly shifted aspect, almost every ten seconds in some cases. If she began to sleep-shift it would be the end of her. Although even if she remained in this form she wasn't overly confident about her chances of survival.

Never the less unconsciousness came swiftly and she was soon quiet and all but dead.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 Friends Often Come From Odd Places

Velée awoke to find herself in a small, one room tumbledown house. She got up rapidly and was surprised to feel no pain at all. Her wound had healed itself already. It was still bright outside so unless she had been asleep for over a day, which she doubted, it had only been an hour or so. Shapeshifters healed very quickly and she must have done it while she slept. But now she would have to reopen the wound to dig the bullet out.

"It's alright, you're safe now." Said someone from out of the gloom. Velée jumped, squawking in alarm at his voice. He came over to her and she hopped away. "I took the bullet out while you were asleep; you're going to be okay. They won't find you here."

The shapeshifter tilted her head, _what was this boy doing? _It almost sounded like he was talking to her but why would he be saying what he was_. It made no sense_; as if in answer to her thoughts he spoke again. "It's alright Velée I know who and what you are. You don't have to pretend around me."

Velée flew off immediately looking for an open window or door; there was none so she was forced to land. She morphed into a dragon as her feet hit the ground. She wanted to roar threateningly at the boy but she didn't, it would attract too much of the wrong type of attention.

He looked to be only twelve and had short brown hair with an identically coloured pair of eyes. He looked familiar but Velée was sure she had never met him before. She walked towards him and to her satisfaction he backed away. It meant he was smart enough to be scared of her.

"You don't recognise me do you Velée?" He asked lightly. Her name coming from a human's mouth sounded odd. "It's me; Brek."

All anger drained from the shapeshifter as he said those words. "Brek, is that really you? I haven't seen you since you were only a few days old, you've grown but you've kept some of the shapeshifter longevity I see." She said happily, besides her human form people could only understand dragons and some birds.

"Well it's nice to see an old friend again; I haven't seen a shapeshifter for almost twenty years." Brek replied; Velée changed back into her human form from the other night.

"So your mother?"

"Didn't survive, my father died protecting her and I've been by myself ever since. She lasted longer than most of the others though until the captured her."

"Poor Sandra. What did they? I mean how did they?" Velée asked looking into the young boys face.

He looked so much like his mother now she was looking. Brek was the son of Sandra, a shapeshifter born human. She was perhaps the only one to ever understand them, and eventually she fell in love. With a human and they had a child. Brek was only a newborn when the humans declared their 'Cleanse'.

"A new weapon they invented after you had gone into hiding. A gas which kills shapeshifters but doesn't harm humans in the least. It took them a few years to get it right though they killed as many humans as they did shapeshifters testing it. I was five when they finally caught us.

"My father held them off for as long as he could but they shot him and caught us soon after. We were put into a room with a whole bunch of other shapeshifters and humans and the filled the room with the gas. That was when my father really saved me; I have always been more human than shapeshifter. I can't morph at all and I'm semi-immune to their gas. I watched my mother die and all I did was throw up."

"And they let you go?" Velée asked, this was obviously very traumatic for Brek but she had to find out.

"If you can get up and walk away after a few minutes in the gas chamber they let you go, no shapeshifter can last more than two minutes or so in one." Brek continued, but his face was dry. "But you've been seen as a shapeshifter, I don't know what they'll do now. They were so sure that they had got you all; all the gas was destroyed years ago. And the team of scientists who created the gas all died shortly after it was completed. So for now I think you'll be safe."

"It's like world war II all over again. The Nazis have returned with their gas chambers to kill their fellow creatures because they see them as inferior." Velée said her voice full of hate.

"Actually it's was because you were such a threat they were so desperate to kill all of you. The shapeshifter numbers were increasing dramatically, with your long lives and some of you having up to six children at a time. We realised it was only a matter of time before you had enough numbers to challenge humans for dominancy of the planet."

"But we don't want dominancy of the planet, we just want to not live in fear of being killed."

"Why don't you take it up in front of a court then? There have actually been a number of groups of people who want equal rights for shapeshifters."

"There wouldn't be very much point would there Brek? There aren't many of us left; I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only one. All I want is my charm, and then I can go and find somewhere out of the human's way and live in peace."

Brek rolled his eyes, _there is no place out of human's way; they've taken over the entire planet._

Scapen closed and locked the door behind him. The owner of the hotel's arm became caught between the door and he kicked it out of the way. The caretaker of the hotel lay dead in his room and he slipped out of the building quietly.

It was the only way to secure his anonymity as an assassin; the caretaker had seen him throw the dagger and despite his appearance he was not stupid. He instantly put two and two together; and as problematic as a shapeshifter after his blood was Scapen could not let him live.

It wanted its charm back; _damn, they were all supposed to be dead. I should not have to deal with this. But rather than cause panic I will keep its little secret for now. If I can get it on my side it may prove very useful to me._ He smiled as he exited the hotel; life had been getting far too boring around here. Now a shapeshifter after him might bring about his end but it would be one hell of a ride before then.

As he walked the streets though he found himself on edge and jumping at shadows. Every person he passed could be the shapeshifter. A grey tabby cat came up and mewed gently, Scapen jumped and quickly paced away from it. He was scared now, what was he thinking? He couldn't stand up to a shapeshifter; he would have to hide, go underground and lay as low as possible for the next…_No that wouldn't work! That demon would wait forever to get the charm back. _They lived a lot longer than humans; it was uncertain how old a shapeshifter could get.

If The Dragon was anything to go by it was a long time. She had been around for over one hundred years and from what he had seen today she was still alive and kicking. Scapen groaned as some young child carelessly bumped his arm which the shapeshifter had broken in their scuffle. He had to hide, he had to recover, he had to make a plan and get his pride back.

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 Old Friends and New

"Velée wait, please!" Brek called from some distance behind her. The shapeshifter continued following the scent pretending not to hear him.

She was a wild looking black dog now sniffing around the streets trying to pick up Scapen's scent again. _What does he know? He's just a human, he may have shapeshifter blood in him but he will never be one of us, he will never understand! Leave without my charm? Never. They don't understand; none of them. They have no idea how much those charms mean to us; how much they are worth; what they can do._ She was angry he had even suggested it.

And when somebody grabbed the scruff of her neck she instantaneously twisted around snarling ready to bite them. Luckily she stopped herself just in time to avoid biting an officer. Despite how primitive this planet had become they still did not take kindly to animals biting humans. _How would they like it if I came and grabbed them while they were minding their own business? They are no more superior to any other creature alive and certainly not shapeshifters. I almost wish I had bitten him._

"Velée! She didn't hurt you did she?" Brek asked wisely separating the two but speaking as if Velée was his pet.

_You're pushing it half-breed;_ Velée thought angrily as the officer inspected his undamaged hand he had a badge on his chest that said his name was David.

"No harm done lad, but you know the law: all dogs must be kept on leashes while in the streets. And perhaps a muzzle, she doesn't seem too friendly."

"Well you shouldn't have grabbed her and she wouldn't have reacted like that. Do you see any hostility in her now?" Brek said defensively.

David reached forward to pet Velée but she began growling threateningly and he withdrew his hand. _Don't even try it buddy. _He looked at Brek with an 'I-told-you-so' look. But Brek simply shrugged.

"Maybe she just doesn't like you." He said.

"Well just be sure to keep her away from young children. They're likely to reach out and grab her just like I did and we don't want her to kill anyone." David told him sternly looking at Velée. _I would never hurt a child, I'm no monster. Children are perhaps the only humans I will tolerate, they're nice actually. And they don't run away screaming when I shape shift._ But she didn't like being referred to as if she wasn't there.

"Yes officer, I'll make sure I do that officer." Brek said hurrying Velée away. But David continued to follow them. Not closely but close enough to intervene if something went wrong.

_I'll show you;_ Velée though spitefully. She looked around casually until she found a little girl, perhaps four or five, looking at her longingly. The shapeshifter broke away from Brek's side and headed straight towards her. David began to push through the crowd to get to her before Velée did but the shapeshifter got there first.

"No!" David called out loudly bringing Brek's attention to the fact he was no longer with Velée. He looked around and saw she was on top of a small child.

"Velée no, don't do it." He called out too; he and David both ran to her but stopped dead in their tracks when the little girl screamed. Time seemed to stand still for that brief pause between the scream and giggling. When both men reached Velée she was nuzzling the girl playfully and barking lightly.

A woman who looked like the girl's mother walked over to Brek as he tried to coax Velée away. "Is this your dog young man?" She asked hopefully, Brek nodded and a smile broke out on her face. "Thank you, my little Lily has not laughed like that since our dog died a month ago. Would you consider selling her to me?"

Brek shook his head, "I'm sorry but Velée's all I have right now, both my parents are dead and she's… special." He said and Velée looked at him at the mention of her name.

The woman gasped and looked sharply at the dog, Brek looked at her suspiciously and he was sure he heard her repeat the name in a whisper. But when she looked at him again it was as if it was a different person.

"Wait you're all alone? Come and stay with us then, at least for a few days. Please, I don't want to see my little girl sad again. You'd be welcome to stay for as long as you wanted. We still have all the dog stuff."

Brek looked at Velée waiting for permission and after a few happy barks he nodded. "We'd love to."

Brek could not wipe the smile off his face as he, Velée, Lily and the woman who had introduced herself as Danny walked away a few minutes later. "I told you it was just you." Brek said smugly as they passed a bewildered looking David.

When Danny finally got home Lily began to take Velée into an enclosed yard at the back of the house but her mother quickly stopped her. Danny began to close up the house; shutting windows and drawing curtains, closing doors and locking them up tight. While she was doing this Velée came and sat beside Brek. She caught his attention with a whimper but when he looked into her brown dog eyes they seemed to say 'did you have to use my real name'? Brek shrugged apologetically but as another window was closed her look changed to an 'I really don't like the look of this'.

He could sympathise, Danny was closing all exit points. Velée would be trapped if things were to go wrong. It didn't really matter about him, they could do nothing to make him talk but if they still had any of that gas; and Brek was starting to think this woman had something to hide. Or at least she was not telling them all she knew.

Danny finally closed the last window and closed the shutters, nowhere left to run. She turned now to Velée and walked towards the shapeshifter at a brisk pace with an obvious intent. Lily was sitting next to Velée petting her affectionately but moved away as Danny approached.

The woman knelt down to Velée and began to look around beneath her fur. She moved slowly around the face but was working her way to the right cheek bone. When she got to close though Velée yelped and retreated. Danny did not look very surprised by this reaction and walked over to Brek. Velée began growling but not loud enough for anyone to hear. Danny sat Brek down and looked into his eyes for a moment or two then began crying.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Brek asked and she quickly stopped her tears.

"It's so good to finally meet you Brek. I'd heard you survived but I was never sure. And Velée, I never doubted you'd survive the humans. You always were our leader, to the end." She said lifting up her shirt slightly to reveal a parrot imprinted on her hip.

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End file.
